Background Type two diabetes (T2DM) is characterized by insufficient insulin production and secretion. Additionally, the body develops insulin resistance which affects 90–95% of diabetics. Complex cytokines, receptors, genetic pathways, and the immune system are involved in T2DM. Interleukin-18 (IL-18) is one of the inflammatory cytokines associated with Type 2 diabetes. Environmental and genetic variables, including genetic polymorphisms, can increase T2DM risk and its consequences. Single nucleotide gene polymorphisms (SNPs) are important risk factors for diabetes that can be used to find the disease early and treat it better. Objective This study aimed to determine the levels of IL-18 in the serum of Iraqi patients with Type 2 diabetes

Mauddud Formation (Albian stage-the Early Cretaceous) is an important oil reservoir in Ratawi field of southern Iraq. Four wells, R T-2, R T-3, R T-6, and R T-7, located 70 km northwest of Basra, were selected to study microfacies properties and petrophysical associations with the probability of oil production. Seventy-seven core samples are collected, and thin sections for petrographic analysis. The self-potential, Gamma-ray, resistivity, and porosity logs are used to determine the top and bottom of the Mauddud Formation. Water saturation of the invaded and uninvaded zones, shale volume, and porosity were calculated. The study area results showed that the quantity of shale is less than 15% for most of the wells, and the dominant po

When the guard honey bees, Apis mellifera L., form a clump at the hive entrance or on the flight board, the oriental hornet, Vespa orientails L., either creeps toward the clump or hovers over it in order to take a bee. Once the hornet creeps, only few bees facing the hornet become alert, rock their heads and antennae, open their wings, and take a posture of defense. The rest of the clump stays listless without any signal of concern. However, the clump stays dense and the defending bees do not detach themselves neither from the rest of the clump nor from each other. For this reason, it is very difficult for the hornet to grab a bee unless the latter makes a “mistake” by detaching herself from other adjacent bees. If the hornet grabs s

The presence of the most important steroidal sapogenin “Tigogenin” in the leaves of Agave americana  cultivated in Iraq was detected. The absence of any study concerning the Tigogenin content of this medicinal plant in Iraq, and the industrial importance of Tigogenin depending on its role as a precursor in the synthesis of some steroidal drugs, acquired this study its value. This search include extraction,  isolation,  purification and dentification of Tigogenin from the leaves of Agave americana. Extraction of this compound was carried out using two methods. Identification of this compound is carried out by using thin layer chromatography (TLC) where three different mobile phase have been use

    As Albizia lebbeck is one of the important species in Iraq and the region, its wood has subjected to investigation through the assessment of differences in its element dimensions and specific gravity under Baghdad conditions. Variations of fiber length, fiber width, cell wall thickness, vessel diameter, and density of wood were examined along the stem and horizontally.  Results showed that fiber lengths were within the normal range, but their widths were narrower than common range of hardwoods. There were little increase in fiber length, width, wall thickness as the height position increased. Vessel diameter has been affected contrarily. No significant effects of  height on specific gravity could be

This study detects the presence of the most important steroidal sapogenin “Tigogenin” in the leaves of Yucca aloifolia widely cultivated in Iraq. The absence of any study concerning the Tigogenin content of this medicinal plant in Iraq, and the industrial importance of Tigogenin depending on its role as a precursor in the synthesis of some steroidal drugs, acquired this study its value. This study concerned with extraction, identification, isolation, and purification of Tigogenin from the leaves of Yucca aloifolia. Extraction of this compound was carried out using two methods. Identification of this compound was done using thin layer chromatography (TLC) where different solvent systems had been tried. Liberm

This study detects the presence of an important flavonoid "Casticin" in the fruits of Vitex agnus-castus L. grown in Iraq. The pharmaceutical importance of Casticin arise from its consideration as anti-tumor substance and have cytotoxic effects, and the absence of any study concerning Casticin content of this medicinal plant in Iraq, gave this study its importance. This study concerned with the extraction, identification, isolation and purification  of Casticin from the fruits of Vitex agnus-castus L. The extraction of this compound was carried out using  two methods. Identification of this compound was done by Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) in which three different solvent system has been tried. This identif

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) represents the most prevalent type of acute leukemia in adults and is responsible for approximately 80% of all cases. The tumor suppressor gene (TP53) is a gene that has been frequently studied in cancer, and mutations in this gene account for about 50% of human cancers. This study aims to evaluate the correlation between two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the gene: rs1042522 and rs1642785, and a group of Iraqi patients suffering from pre-diagnostic acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Blood samples were collected from sixty patients (26 males and 34 females) and sixty controls (26 males and 34 females); these subjects were matched in gender, age, and ethnicity. Genomic DNA has been extracted fro

Flexible paving is the most popular type of paving used in road building and one of the biggest problems facing the world's paving business is the rising demand for scarce natural resources. Uncontrolled. Numerous studies have shown that secondary materials reduce the need for traditional materials, offer efficient waste disposal technology and lower the overall cost of paving. The current study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of both fibers and dust on the sustainability and cost of flexible pavement by studying each of polyester fibers as a waste of the textile industry and fibers or rubber particles as one of the rubber waste products, in addition to studying the efficiency of using cement dust and marble dust on the paving proc